Overlord: A Cooperative Magic: The Gathering Format
Hey, Vincent here.
Ever since the Final Fantasy Magic set released, I was inspired to build a cube to capture that amazing limited experience. But as you know, cube-building can be a serious investment… lots of cards, sleeves, storage space, and maybe the hardest part of all: finding the players.
Then one evening, while sitting with my fiancée (who’s never really been into Magic), I had a thought:
What if there was a way for us to play together, on the same team, against the game itself? What if Magic could feel like we were clashing against some of the big bads of Magic or Final Fantasy?
That spark became Overlord! A cooperative way to enjoy limited Magic with just two players, a single box of cards, and a whole lot of fun.
HORDE MAGIC
When I first had this idea, my mind went straight to Horde Magic. The most popular co-op MTG format. But while I love Horde (and have two decks built for it), it also demands a lot of setup, including large quantities of specific token cards, many sleeves, and storage space. That wasn’t practical for me when building a smaller, more self contained limited environment.
Instead, I envisioned something more quick, flexible, and minimalist, a format that could be thrown together with a random assortment of cards (about the size of a booster box) without requiring ordering new cards. That idea evolved into what’s now called Overlord, a leaner, easier-to-build, but still epically fun cooperative challenge!
Design Goals
Overlord was built around a few key goals:
Co-op Fun — a format for friends, partners, or anyone who wants to team up instead of battling each other.
Limited Feel — still keeping the joy of sealed/draft experiences.
Lore-Friendly — playing against an “Overlord” fits naturally into Magic’s storytelling across any set.
Budget-Friendly — playable with just one booster box (or even a bundle), no need for multiple collections.
Fun-First — the goal here is fun above all else. Mix, swap, or tweak cards until the challenge feels perfect for you and your partner.
Quick Setup Checklist
Before you play Overlord, do this:
Build the Overlord Deck
40 cards, no lands.
Include 4 Legendary creatures to serve as the Overlords.
No planeswalkers.
Enchantments/artifacts are fine (they auto-play).
Stack the Deck
Shuffle.
Place an Overlord card as every 10th card (face-up in the stack).
Life Totals
Overlord starts at 30 life.
Players share 20 life.
Opening Hands
Each player draws 7 cards.
One free mulligan allowed.
The Overlord does not draw an opening hand.
First Turn Rule
Players take 3 turns together before the Overlord’s first turn.
Players can’t attack the Overlord until after its first turn.
Overlord Deck Rules
The Overlord Deck runs itself using these rules:
Casting Cards: On its turn, the Overlord plays the top card of its deck. If it’s a common or uncommon, it plays an additional card (but only once per turn). All played cards enter the battlefield.
Milling Overlords: If an Overlord creature would be milled, it isn’t. Instead, mill the next non-Overlord cards until something else goes to the graveyard.
Combat Blocking: During combat, the Overlord blocks by matching its strongest creatures to the players’ strongest creatures:
Compare power first.
If tied, compare toughness.
If still tied, choose randomly.
The Overlord only blocks one-for-one unless forced by an effect (like Menace).
Attacking: The Overlord’s creatures attack every turn if able (normal summoning sickness applies).
Mana & Abilities: The Overlord has infinite mana but can only use abilities/effects if the players have enough lands to reasonably match the cost. (Ex: if the players’ highest land count is 5, the Overlord won’t activate something that costs 7.)
Player Decks
Player decks should be built much like the Boss deck — from a random assortment of cards you already have on hand. Don’t stress about optimization or strict deck construction rules. Overlord is meant to be casual, quick, and budget-friendly.
What makes the format shine, though, is theme and story. Try to build both the Boss and player decks around an idea, faction, or narrative. Maybe the Boss is an army of the undead while the players rally a band of forest guardians to stop them. Or perhaps a cruel artificer rises, and the players gather knights and clerics to resist his machines.
This works especially well in a limited format, where your card pool naturally leans toward a certain feel. By embracing that, each game becomes not just a match, but a little story of heroes versus a looming Overlord.
Player Rules
Players share a turn: they play simultaneously, attack together, block together, etc.
Players can’t attack the Overlord until after its first turn.
Players win if the Overlord’s life hits 0. They lose if their shared life hits 0 or the Overlord mills out.
Rules Addendum (Edge Cases & Clarifications)
Instants: If the Overlord flips an instant, it is cast immediately.
Planeswalkers: The Overlord deck cannot include planeswalkers.
Enchantments & Artifacts: Always enter the battlefield when revealed.
Targeting: The Overlord always targets the strongest eligible creature (highest power, then highest toughness if tied). If still tied, choose at random.
Mulligans: Players may take one free mulligan. The Overlord does not draw an opening hand and simply plays off the top of the deck.
Card Draw: If the Overlord would draw cards, those cards go to its hand. It must play from hand before playing off the top.
Unfulfillable Effects: The Overlord skips any effect it cannot fulfill (such as searching for a land).
Player Count: Overlord is designed strictly for two players who share a life total.
Why Play Overlord?
Overlord turns Magic into a cooperative, raid-style experience. It’s perfect for:
Couples or friends who want to be on the same side of the table.
Players who love the flavor of fighting a giant villain from a set’s world.
Those who want a flexible, friendly, limited-style format without needing tons of players.
It’s a blast seeing whether you and your partner can outwit the deck, survive its onslaught of threats, and take down the final Legendary Overlord.
Your Next Adventure Awaits
The Overlord awaits. Will you and your ally rise to the challenge, or fall beneath its power?
If you loved this raid-style spin on Magic, you’ll feel right at home with the worlds and adventures we’re building at Vindicated. Join us, and discover your next great battle. We also have some other fun formats, additions, and even our own card games we’ve designed that you can check out here.
